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I’m so grateful for the outpouring of support for Erin for DC Council Chairwoman over the last few weeks. We’re building a brighter future for all DC — powered by all DC.

Candidates recently filed fundraising reports and we are outperforming my opponent in every way. In our last fundraising reporting period, we had:

• the most donations of any Council Chair candidate (as of today we have more than 765 donations from all eight wards);
• the most DC donors of any Council Chair candidate by more than 200 donors, with 94% of our donations from DC residents;
• the most money raised of any Council Chair candidate by almost $10,000;
• $0 from corporations or their Political Action Committees.

As the only candidate for Council Chair who is participating in and has qualified for DC’s Fair Elections program, we’re seeing the power of DC residents.

Thanks to Keith Ivey, DC Geekery, for analyzing campaign contributions for this campaign. I recommend looking at all the races this election cycle!

One sole incumbent and candidate has nevertheless chosen not to participate in the Fair Elections program and instead cozy up to corporate donors — my opponent, the current Council Chair. While every single one of our donations is from an individual, my opponent has raised tens of thousands of dollars from corporations, including property owners and landlords.

We’ve seen the results of the current Council Chair’s failure to take meaningful action to ensure safe housing, all while accepting campaign donations from property owners and landlords. The District’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), which inspects and enforces housing code violations, has been plagued for decades with challenges making sure all DC residents have safe, stable, and secure housing. Meanwhile, the current Council Chair, who is primarily responsible for the agency’s oversight, has done little to address DCRA’s enforcement procedures and practices.

We’ll never have a Chair who puts residents and tenants first when they’re funded by the landlord lobby. More of my opponent’s donations come from realty, development, and property management companies, owners, and employees than any other industry. This includes maximum donations directly from companies, Political Action Committees, and a developer closely tied to Donald Trump.

DC residents deserve a Council Chair who will take every action to ensure safe, stable, and secure housing. I’ve got a Safe Housing Action Plan that puts DC residents first by expanding housing code inspections with a racial equity and public health lens; requiring repairs and empowering the DC government to make repairs for housing code violations when property owners do not; and enhancing and improving enforcement to deter housing code violations. My refusal to take money from corporate interests means I will work for and be accountable to you — the residents of DC.

Erin has released a Safe Housing Action Plan that calls for legislative action and oversight by the DC Council to strengthen our regulation of safe housing by detecting, fixing, and preventing housing code violations, as well as preventing the degradation of buildings that results in demolition or sale and displacement of neighbors.

In case you missed it, I am so honored that Anthony Lorenzo Green, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Single Member District 7C04, has endorsed me for DC Council Chairwoman. He said: “We need fighters who are ready to take on the biggest challenges facing working families, especially Black and Brown communities across DC. I am proud to be in the arena with Erin everyday to make housing a human right and invest in evidence-based solutions to make DC safer.” I can’t wait to continue the work with Commissioner Green and Commissioners across DC for a brighter DC for all of us.

Commissioner Green has endorsed Erin for DC Council Chairwoman, stating: “Commissioner Palmer has been a great partner in fighting to deliver on infrastructure & transportation resources. She has the vision and passion for a DC that invests in working people.”

If you’re looking to show your support, we have campaign t-shirts! And we’re giving a free t-shirt to our 51st, 151st, etc. donor each month. You can donate here. You can also show your support by requesting a yard or window sign.

Our family loves our new Erin for DC Council Chairwoman t-shirts, and we hope you will love them too! To share the love, the Monsters will deliver a t-shirt to our 51st donor of the month every month.

I am deeply grateful for your support, and I’m motivated to change our entrenched power structures and lead with compassion and integrity to to build a brighter DC for all of us.